Whistler, BC June 1, 2012 – Crankworx’s invites for the inaugural Les 2 Alpes Slopestyle presented by iXS on July 14 and Red Bull Joyride on August 18 are signed, sealed, and delivered.

The best slopestyle athletes in the world will show everyone what next level riding looks like. With Gold Level FMB points and a 15,000 Euro prize purse on the line for the top slope riders at Les 2 Alpes and $25,000 for first place alone in Whistler at the Red Bull Joyride, the best of the best will be on course.

Crankworx’s slopestyle event has long been considered the most prestigious event of its kind in the world and Red Bull Joyride is a Diamond Stop, one of only two worldwide. The Les 2 Alpes’ Slopestyle, presented by IXS, has a gold level ranking on the FMB World Tour.

“These are season-defining freeride mountain bike competitions and the invitation formats ensure the best athletes compete,” says Darren Kinnaird, Crankworx General Manager. “For Crankworx Les 2 Alpes, the invites are based on the top 24 in the 52 week seeding list as of today, a few select special invites and there will be five Wild Card spots up for grabs through the Mondial du VTT event in Les 2 Alpes June 21 to 24. For Red Bull Joyride, invitations go out to athletes based on their performance at previous Crankworx Slopestyles and their results in the FMB World Tour.”

Red Bull Joyride Invitation Format – Below is the criteria used to determine the 17 athlete invitations issued already and for the how the rest of the field will be filled out for participation in Red Bull Joyride :

The top twelve athletes from the FMB 2012 52-week rankings after July 7 (Mathematically, Pilgrim and Reynolds can’t fall outside top 12 by July 7).

The field will be rounded out with wild card invites.

Red Bull Joyride Qualifying Format:
A total of ten athletes will be automatically qualified for Red Bull Joyride on Saturday, August 18 and won’t have to participate in the two full course qualifying runs on August 16, based on the following criteria:

An additional eight athletes will be qualified based on the results of two full-course runs on August 16, limited to the 16 athletes that are not pre-qualified for Red Bull Joyride. Red Bull Joyride judges will observe the two full-course qualifying runs. Riders will be ranked based on the best score achieved of the qualifying runs to select eight athletes to advance and join the ten pre-qualified riders for Red Bull Joyride on Saturday, August 18.

The ninth annual Crankworx Whistler is presented by Whistler Blackcomb and the Whistler Mountain Bike Park. Crankworx Whistler is the biggest annual event held in Whistler and is also the largest freeride mountain bike festival in the world. Crankworx Les 2 Alpes will take place for the first time July 9-15, 2012 and is the first Crankworx event to take place outside of North America. This new event will build on Crankworx’s legendary legacy in the arena of freeride mountain biking.

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